Maria destroyed the show. It's going to take Jill and Josh more time to repair the horrendous damage done to it. They've done a brilliant job so far, but there's still more to be done. Maria believed Maura West had ZERO talent, which is the biggest bullshit ever. They should have kept Maura in the role of Diane; there were so many more avenues they could still be traveling down with her in the role. Nikki VS. Diane, Phyllis VS. Diane would both still be working greatly. Maria couldn't handle the role of both executive producer and headwriter, and it came back to bite her in the ass. The whole Jana storyline and Shielda redux with her sister was the dumbest thing ever.

Both Jill and Josh have done wonders with Y&R and have given it great control and consistency. The one thing, however, I could do without is the inconsistency where it comes with the newbies. Too many new faces. Some have been BRILLIANT casting decisions (Robert Adamson, Melissa Ordway, Max Enrich) but a lot have just been duds (Hunter King, Hartley Sawyer, Redaric Williams, Kelli Goss, Lamon Archey).

As far as Michelle Stafford's exit, it seems very much her own decision to move on from the role. I don't think it had anything to do with story or anything else. I think after 16 years of being Phyllis, she's looking for new experiences and to be there with her daughter.